Greece Delays Submittal of Its Overhaul Plans

By NIKI KITSANTONIS and JAMES KANTERFEB. 23, 2015

The New York Times

ATHENS — Greece on Monday delayed the submission of the proposed reforms that European creditors have made a condition of the country’s financial aid.

European and Greek officials spent much of the day exchanging drafts of the proposals paring back austerity and ensuring Greece can still meet its budget targets. While they underscored the progress made, Athens will now present the list Tuesday morning, after the original deadline of Monday night.

Eurozone finance ministers are expected to hold a conference call on Tuesday to discuss the proposals. Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the president of the Eurogroup of finance ministers, may give the first official reaction to the Greek proposals when he appears at the European Parliament for regularly scheduled testimony before the influential Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee.

The proposed reforms are the next step in Greece’s effort to secure financial aid, a condition of an agreement reached late Friday to extend the country’s bailout by another four months. The accord brought to an end the standoff that began when Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras pledged to redraw or scrap the bailout agreement after he came to power in January.

But the delay in the list of proposals — albeit a modest one — highlights the difficulty of the negotiations. If the talks get bogged down again, it could once again fuel speculation that Greece may be headed for a messy exit from the euro currency.

The proposals are expected to include a crackdown on tax evasion and corruption, an overhaul of the state sector, and measures to tackle problems with troubled bank loans, said a Greek government official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Such plans are intended to help improve the country’s financial picture. For example, a payment plan for tax debtors could bring in an estimated 3 billion euros, or $3.4 billion, in revenue. A crackdown on fuel and tobacco smuggling could add billions of euros a year to the Greek coffers.

The overhaul also included tackling what the government has described as a “humanitarian crisis” created by years of austerity by spending about 1.8 billion euros to provide free electricity, meal subsidies for the poor and other items. Foreclosures of primary homes by Greeks struggling to meet mortgage payments are to be blocked. The government was also expected to propose a fairer taxation system.

Greece will still “have to take account of budgetary balance and the need to repay debts,” Pierre Moscovici, the European commissioner for economic and financial affairs, said on French television on Monday.

Niki Kitsantonis reported from Athens, and James Kanter from Brussels.